9. Super Bowl I – Packers 35, Chiefs 10 Margin of Victory: 25 points Who knows what would have happened if the Chiefs had blew out the Packers in the very first Super Bowl? Maybe the AFL would have ended up absorbing the NFL instead of the other way around, and we’d all be watching Fox AFL Sunday every week. Of course, we’ll never know the answer to that question because it was most definitely the NFL’s Packers who did the pummeling on January 15, 1967. Though the Chiefs kept things close at first and only trailed 14-10 at the half, Packers safety Willie Wood kicked off a 21-0 run with a 50-yard pick six (pictured) early in the third quarter, and the NFL went on to thrash the AFL by 25 points. Margin of Victory: 27 points Super Bowl XXXV is better remembered for it’s halftime show—the one that featured Aerosmith, ‘N Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige—than the actual game. And the reason for that was that the actual game was boring.

The Ravens were not an exciting team to watch, but they were fantastic on defense and they suffocated the Giants. Hell, Ray Lewis was the MVP of the game and he only had three solo tackles, two assisted tackles, and four blocked passes. At least the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII, Malcolm Smith, had 10 tackles and a pick six. 8. Super Bowl XXXV – Ravens 34, Giants 7 Margin of Victory: 27 points Super Bowl XXXV is better remembered for it’s halftime show—the one that featured Aerosmith, ‘N Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige—than the actual game. And the reason for that was that the actual game was boring. The Ravens were not an exciting team to watch, but they were fantastic on defense and they suffocated the Giants. Hell, Ray Lewis was the MVP of the game and he only had three solo tackles, two assisted tackles, and four blocked passes. At least the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII, Malcolm Smith, had 10 tackles and a pick six. Margin of Victory: 27 points Anyone who remembers this game probably picked the Seahawks to beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

The Oakland Raiders scored 450 points during the 2002 NFL season, which was the second-most in the league. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meanwhile, allowed just 196 points, which was a whole 45 points better than anyone else. The Raiders were 4-point favorites heading into the game, but the Bucs intercepted league MVP Rich Gannon five times and returned three for touchdowns. Apparently defense really does win championships. 7. Super Bowl XXXVII – Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21 Margin of Victory: 27 points Anyone who remembers this game probably picked the Seahawks to beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. The Oakland Raiders scored 450 points during the 2002 NFL season, which was the second-most in the league. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meanwhile, allowed just 196 points, which was a whole 45 points better than anyone else. The Raiders were 4-point favorites heading into the game, but the Bucs intercepted league MVP Rich Gannon five times and returned three for touchdowns. Apparently defense really does win championships. Margin of Victory: 29 points Here we have the Raiders on the winning side of a blowout.

In 1983, with former coach John Madden up in the TV book calling the game for CBS, the Raiders obliterated the defending Super Bowl champions—the team that was a league-best 14-2 that year. Marcus Allen won the MVP award for his 191 rushing yards against what had been the league’s best rushing defense. 6. Super Bowl XVIII – Raiders 38, Washington 9 Margin of Victory: 29 points Here we have the Raiders on the winning side of a blowout. In 1983, with former coach John Madden up in the TV book calling the game for CBS, the Raiders obliterated the defending Super Bowl champions—the team that was a league-best 14-2 that year. Marcus Allen won the MVP award for his 191 rushing yards against what had been the league’s best rushing defense. Margin of Victory: 32 points And now it’s Washington’s turn to be on the winning side of a Super Bowl blowout. And look who’s on the losing side—it’s Denver!

The poor Broncos probably didn’t think the Super Bowl could go any worse for them in 1988 than it did in 1987, when they lost to the Giants by 19 points. However, it actually got much worse when they faced Washington in 1988, as quarterback Doug Williams torched them for 340 yards and four touchdowns. After that, the Broncos probably said, okay, now the Super Bowl can’t get any worse. But, um… 5. Super Bowl XXII – Washington 42, Broncos 10 Margin of Victory: 32 points And now it’s Washington’s turn to be on the winning side of a Super Bowl blowout. And look who’s on the losing side—it’s Denver! The poor Broncos probably didn’t think the Super Bowl could go any worse for them in 1988 than it did in 1987, when they lost to the Giants by 19 points. However, it actually got much worse when they faced Washington in 1988, as quarterback Doug Williams torched them for 340 yards and four touchdowns.

After that, the Broncos probably said, okay, now the Super Bowl can’t get any worse. But, um… Margin of Victory: 35 points Here we are. Super Bowl XLVIII: the fourth-biggest blowout in the history of the big game. And do you want to know what’s really sad? This isn’t the last time we’ll see the Broncos on the list. That’s right. The Denver Broncos suffered three of the nine biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history. That’s 33%. You have to feel a little sorry for their fans, don’t you? Yes, they won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999, but when it rains for these people, it pours. 4. Super Bowl XLVIII – Seahawks 43, Broncos 8 Margin of Victory: 35 points Here we are. Super Bowl XLVIII: the fourth-biggest blowout in the history of the big game. And do you want to know what’s really sad? This isn’t the last time we’ll see the Broncos on the list. That’s right. The Denver Broncos suffered three of the nine biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history.

That’s 33%. You have to feel a little sorry for their fans, don’t you? Yes, they won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999, but when it rains for these people, it pours. Margin of Victory: 35 points Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irving created a dynasty in Dallas that won three Super Bowls in four years. The most impressive of those victories? Undoubtedly it was the first, in which they shellacked the hapless Buffalo Bills to hand them their third consecutive Super Bowl loss. How bad was this one? So bad that it actually made the Cowboys’ 30-13 win over the Bills in the Super Bowl the following year seem entertaining by comparison. 3. Super Bowl XXVII – Cowboys 52, Bills 17 Margin of Victory: 35 points Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irving created a dynasty in Dallas that won three Super Bowls in four years. The most impressive of those victories? Undoubtedly it was the first, in which they shellacked the hapless Buffalo Bills to hand them their third consecutive Super Bowl loss. How bad was this one?

So bad that it actually made the Cowboys’ 30-13 win over the Bills in the Super Bowl the following year seem entertaining by comparison. Margin of Victory: 36 points Believe it or not, there was a time when NFL fans didn’t particularly enjoy watching the Patriots lose the Super Bowl. You see, in 1985 the Chicago Bears were an NFL-best 15-1 and sported the league’s #1 defense and #2 offense. For that reason, they were 10-point favorites against the Patriots, who were just 11-5. As a result, anybody who didn’t have a horse in that race was rooting for the scrappy underdogs. Of course, the Bears wound up Super Bowl shuffling all over the Patriots, winning what was at the time the biggest blowout in the history of the Super Bowl. 2. Super Bowl XX – Bears 46, Patriots 10 Margin of Victory: 36 points Believe it or not, there was a time when NFL fans didn’t particularly enjoy watching the Patriots lose the Super Bowl.

You see, in 1985 the Chicago Bears were an NFL-best 15-1 and sported the league’s #1 defense and #2 offense. For that reason, they were 10-point favorites against the Patriots, who were just 11-5. As a result, anybody who didn’t have a horse in that race was rooting for the scrappy underdogs. Of course, the Bears wound up Super Bowl shuffling all over the Patriots, winning what was at the time the biggest blowout in the history of the Super Bowl. Margin of Victory: 45 points The biggest Super Bowl blowout of all-time belongs to the San Francisco 49ers. Facing the (literally) defenseless Broncos on January 28, 1990, the Niners were 12-point favorites. However, once the game started they just completely ran amok. Joe Montana, who was the NFL MVP in 1989, also earned Super Bowl MVP honors by throwing for 297 yards and a ridiculous five touchdowns while finishing with a 75.9 completion percentage.

So while nobody trumps Bills fans when it comes to understanding the agony of Super Bowl defeat, I’d say Broncos fans are a close second. Ranking all 49 Super Bowl champions, from best to worst | For The Win Ranking all 49 Super Bowl champions, from best to worst Ranking all 49 Super Bowl champions, from best to worst By Chris Chase January 27, 2016 2:58 pm Follow @firechrischase 67k shares Follow @firechrischase As the NFL hits its 50th Super Bowl, the sports world has been taking a look back at the history of America’s biggest, and greatest, game. FTW got in on the fun by going back and evaluating each Super Bowl-winning team and ranking them from best to worst. There are a few surprises, a lot of potential debate but no argument for which team should rank No. 49. 1. 1991 Washington Redskins (14-2) (AP) Yes, the 1991 Washington Redskins are the greatest team to win a Super Bowl. They’re also the poster children for how numbers always lie.

Criminally underrated, the ’91 Skins were one halftime Hail Mary and a lineman-eligible drop in the end zone during a meaningless Week 17 game from being undefeated. They have the second-highest point differential of any Super Bowl champion. They had 50 sacks and Mark Rypien, who started all 16 games, was sacked just seven times. (Tom Brady was sacked four times on Sunday alone.) They played a tougher schedule than any team in the top 10 of this list (they’re the only team whose opponents had a collective record of .500 or better). They ran through the NFC playoffs by a score of 65-17 and were whupping up on Buffalo 37-10 in the Super Bowl when they took the foot off the gas and allowed Buffalo two garbage-time TDs. (At the same pint the ‘Skins were doing that, the ’85 Bears were running it up by giving The Fridge a Super Bowl touchdown.) Don Beebe, who played on four straight Super Bowl teams with the Bills, said this Redskins team was the best he’d ever seen.

Paul Zimmermann, the great Sports Illustrated writer, once wrote this Washington team was as good as any. But because Mark Rypien was the quarterback, Earnest Byner was the running back and the defense was led up front by Charles Mann, people automatically assume Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders were better. Maybe, but it all starts up front and The Hogs were the best ever. Either way, give me the ’91 Redskins and you take the field — I’ll win 25 or more. 2. 1984 San Francisco 49ers (15-1) (AP) Sure, Jerry Rice wasn’t around yet, but Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Randy Cross and Ronnie Lott were, along with an in-his-prime Bill Walsh. This squad missed perfection by a mere field goal (to a Pittsburgh team that snuck into the playoffs thanks to a fine defense coached by a young Tony Dungy). They also manhandled a 14-2 Dolphins team led by a record-setting Dan Marino in the Super Bowl. Title-game opponents are an odd criteria of this list.

You can only play who makes it from the other conference, but there’s no doubt beating a 14-2 Dolphins team with a 48-TD Marino is more impressive than beating a 12-4 Bengals team quarterbacked by Ken Anderson (as the ’81 Niners did). 3. 1985 Chicago Bears (15-1) (AP) One of the greatest defenses in history mixed with one of the three greatest running backs ever? How are the Bears not No. 2, let alone No. 1? For as great as Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense was (61 turnovers!) they didn’t set marks for fewest points allowed or turnover margin and the offense was solely dependent on Payton. Then, in the team’s biggest game of the year (not the Super Bowl, against a mediocre Patriots team, but the famed Monday night battle against Miami) the Bears had a 31-10 halftime deficit. Neither of the teams above faced a larger deficit all season — the Redskins were down double-digits just three times all season and cut that lead to single-digits on the next score each time. 4.

1989 San Francisco 49ers (14-2) (USA TODAY Sports Images) When we’re ranking teams in the top 10, we’re splitting hairs. And I feel like people rate this ’89 team as the best ever(it’s what ESPN’s Page 2 did back when ESPN’2 Page 2 existed) because of its dominant postseason performance (126-26 overall, 55-10 in Super Bowl). But quality (or lack thereof) of Super Bowl opponent makes not for greatness. The ’87 Redskins beat the same Broncos 42-10. The ’86 Giants beat ’em 39-20. Give me the ’84 version with the better point differential even though it was less star-studded. I mean, it’s great that this team had Charles Haley, but the defense finished third in points allowed. The ’84 team finished first. 5. 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers (14-2) The third of Chuck Noll’s four Super Bowl teams was the pinnacle, with 10 members in the Hall of Fame (nine players and Noll).

Their two losses were by 10 points and they won a tight Super Bowl battle with the reigning champs — Dallas — with some history on the line. Whichever team won would be the first franchise to get to three Super Bowl victories. 6. 1998 Denver Broncos (14-2) (AP) The first back-to-back AFC champs in almost two decades and the one that sent out John Elway a winner. This team started 13-0 then lost its only two games after clinching home field. A Super Bowl matchup with the 15-1 Vikings would have been a dream, but beating the Dirty Bird Falcons wasn’t exactly a preordained victory. 7. 1992 Dallas Cowboys (13-3) A soft schedule kept the Cowboys from showing how good they could be (a 4-2 record against teams at .500 or above didn’t help), but knocking off a 14-2 49ers team in the NFC championship game and routing a Bills team that was just beginning to realize it was destined to become a Super Bowl punching bag helped. 8.

2004 New England Patriots (14-2) (AP) The best Patriots team (and the best team in NFL history) doesn’t appear on this list thanks to its Super Bowl loss to the Giants. So of the other four title teams under Brady and Belichick, the 2004 team takes the cake, with its loss to a 15-1 Steelers team and a division loss to Miami, coupled with a playoff run that was easy until Donovan McNabb had the ball with a chance to tie or win in the final minutes, a situation that was far less problematic than it seemed at the time. 9. 1996 Green Bay Packers (13-3) (AP) One of the most overrated teams in NFL history. Brett Favre and Reggie White led the Packers to top rankings on offense and defense (a rarity) but the team was 5-3 against teams over .500 (and these weren’t narrow losses) and needed a Desmond Howard kickoff return to put away a mediocre Patriots team in the Super Bowl. 10. 1973 Miami Dolphins (12-2) Yeah, the ’73 team with two losses was better than the undefeated ’72 team.

The stats weren’t as gaudy (as you’ll see below), but the team rolled through the playoffs and played a far more difficult schedule en route to the title. 11. 1972 Miami Dolphins (14-0) (AP) The Dolphins played the easiest schedule of any Super Bowl team (winner or loser) and won its three playoff games by a touchdown or less. The team’s two starting QBs — Earl Morrall and Bob Griese — combined to throw for less than 2,000 yards with 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris each had 1,000-yar d seasons though and the No-Name defense was spectacular. But, in full proof that records ain’t nothin’ but a number, the only undefeated team in league history doesn’t make it into our top 10. 12. 1999 St. Louis Rams (13-3) (USA TODAY Sports Images) Easily the most unexpected team in our top 15, the Rams are the only winner to not make the playoffs the year before their title.

Not just that though, the Rams were 4-12 in 1998, but then got Trent Green from the Redskins and had high hopes with Dick Vermeil on the sideline. But Green got hurt and in one of the more fortuitous injuries in NFL history, Kurt Warner emerged from nowhere to become one of the great quarterbacks of the past two decades. 13. 2003 New England Patriots (14-2) There’s this sense that the first three Brady/Belichick teams weren’t dominant, which probably stems from the close Super Bowl victories over guys like Jake Delhomme. But this is a team that won 31 of 33 games at one point. Who cares if they were doing it by 20 points or three points; style points are for all those awful, judged Olympic events. In football, it’s about the Ws. 14. 2013 Seattle Seahawks (13-3) The hardest team to rank on this list. Russell Wilson was in his second season and wasn’t nearly the quarterback he is now, but the defense was spectacular.

That, a great trilogy against the San Francisco 49ers and CRABTREE, plus Richard Sherman making himself famous literally overnight and holding the best offense in NFL history to eight points in a 35-point rout makes No. 14 sound about right. 15. 1966 Green Bay Packers (12-2) (AP) Lombardi had better teams in Green Bay before the Super Bowl era, but this one was still pretty darn good, culminating in the first-ever Super Bowl win. 16. 1994 San Francisco 49ers (13-3) (Getty Images) Steve Young had one of the best seasons ever at quarterback for the ’94 Niners and finally got that monkey off his back, as he said in the postgame locker room, referring to leading the franchise to a title sans Joe Montana. (Just think what Young could have done if he didn’t waste time in USFL and playing understudy to Montana until he was 31 years old.) But these 49ers had a 40-8 Week 5 loss to a Philadelphia Eagles team that didn’t finish over .500. Splitting hairs? Not as this level.

Win that game 40-8 and Young’s Niners are probably top eight. 17. 1986 New York Giants (14-2) Phil Simms’ 1986 was a lot like his 2016 — after a year of mediocrity, he capped it with a Super Bowl appearance. The Giants quarterback had more interceptions than touchdowns (to be fair, this was far more common 30 years ago) and the game is perhaps best known for what happened after, for the first time ever: Simms got to Disney Word and, as Mike Carey nodded, promptly remarked how nice it was to be in sunny California, probably. 18. 1971 Dallas Cowboys (11-3) Can Tom Landry still be one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and a bit overrated? This was his first Super Bowl team, but the Cowboys coach of 29 years would only win one more despite — get this — making the playoffs in 17 of 18 seasons from 1966 to 1983.

Anyway, this team was full of future Hall of Famers and had a potent offense led by Roger Staubach, Bob Hayes and Mike Ditka. Oh yeah, the defense gave up 12, 3 and 3 points in the playoffs too. 19. 1976 Oakland Raiders (13-1) (AP) Much like the ’94 Niners losing a game by 32, John Madden’s lone Super Bowl team dropped a 48-17 game to a New England team that as least made the playoffs at 11-3. But much like the Dolphins of four years before, the Raiders won lots of close games and have the worst point differential of any team thus far on the list. 20. 1981 San Francisco 49ers (13-3) Speaking of that stat, no team ahead of the ’81 Niners had a worse point differential (+109) but when you show up in pressure situations like “The Catch,” it doesn’t matter. 21.

1982 Washington Redskins (8-1) (AP) Making their way through a 16-team playoff thanks to a seven game players strike, Joe Gibbs began his mini-dynasty at the Rose Bowl. Powered by The Hogs and John Riggins, the ‘Skins were driving midway through the fourth quarter against the league’s best defense when they hit a fourth-and-1 in no man’s land — Miami’s 43. Gibbs went for it, calling for a 70 chip, and Riggins bulldozed over Don McNeal, stiff arming him while keeping his jersey neatly tucked in, and rumbling for the game-winning score. There went The Diesel. 22. 1993 Dallas Cowboys (12-4) 23. 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 24.

2000 Baltimore Ravens (12-4) (USA TODAY Sports Images) The greatest defense in NFL history gave up the fewest points of any team in modern Super Bowl history and had the best turnover margin for any Super Bowl champion (+33, fourth all-time, but a mind-boggling 13 behind the record-holding ’83 Redskins, who would have been one of the top teams on this list if not for the small fact that they lost Super Bowl XVIII to the Raiders, 38-9). Yes, the Ravens had that insane five-game stretch in which they didn’t score a touchdown but only slightly less well known is this: After snapping that ignominious streak with a 27 point “outburst” in Week 10 (just three points less than the team had scored in its previous four games combined), Baltimore went on an 11-game winning streak and other than the second game of that streak, they were never really in any danger again. 25. 1977 Dallas Cowboys (12-2) Landry’s second, and final, Super Bowl winner was tops in the league in both yards and yards allowed. 26.

1975 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-2) 27. 1987 Washington Redskins (11-4) (AP) Read this tremendous Les Carpenter story on Super Bowl XXII hero and the NFL’s ultimate one-hit wonder Timmy Smith , who still holds the game’s rushing record (204 yards — no one has come within 47 yards of it since) but was out of football two years later. 28. 2014 New England Patriots (12-4) (EPA) For a team that was getting left for dead in October of 2014, the Pats emerged, as they usually do, later in the season. Still, one can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Pete Carroll hadn’t had Russell Wilson throw the ball. Well, you don’t have to: He would have handed off to Marshawn Lynch and the 2014 Seattle Seahawks would have been in this spot instead. 29. 1995 Dallas Cowboys (12-4) Call it a bias against any team coached by Barry Switzer. […] No, that’s all I have to say; why do you ask? 30.

1997 Denver Broncos (12-4) 31. 2007 New York Giants (10-6) Beat the greatest team of all time and I don’t care what you did in the regular season. 32. 1969 Kansas City Chiefs (11-3) 33. 1983 Los Angeles Raiders (12-4) (AP) Before the New Giants beat the undefeated New England Patriots in the 2007 season, the ’83 Raiders were the Super Bowl champion who’d probably defeated the best team. Tom Flores and Jim Plunkett got their second titles in a playoff run that saw them score 30 points in each of their three playoff games. 34. 2009 New Orleans Saints (13-3) 35. 1990 New York Giants (13-3) No one remembers the mediocre offense (with Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler playing tag at the QB position) or the top-notch defense constructed with two of the greatest football minds in history (Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick), they only remember “wide right.” 36.

2006 Indianapolis Colts (12-4) (USA TODAY Sports Images) Sorry, Peyton. Though your first Super Bowl was the NFL gods making a much-needed course correction, it was still with a team that felt like one of Manning’s fifth or sixth best in Indy. Edge was gone, Marvin was old, the defense was just holding on by its fingernails, as usual. Peyton had great numbers, but for him it was more an average season than anything else. 37. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-4) Another tough team to rank — Brad Johnson’s 2002 is one of the more underrated QB seasons in recent memory — but then you consider that the team they routed in the Super Bowl, the Oakland Raiders, hasn’t been back to the playoffs since. Suddenly it becomes easier to place Gruden’s team. 38. 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) (USA TODAY Sports Images) 39. 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3-1) This is where the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s, and all the teenaged fairweather fans that came with it, began.

One tidbit you probably didn’t know (or at least I didn’t): Joe Gilliam started more games than Terry Bradshaw in ’74. 40. 1988 San Francisco 49ers (10-6) 41. 1980 Oakland Raiders (11-5) 42. 1968 New York Jets (11-3) (AP) Name a player on offense besides Joe Namath (who threw 15 TD and 17 INT that season)? Name a player on defense. Maybe you got Don Maynard, but other than that, there’s a reason no one thought this team had a chance to win the most famous Super Bowl ever. 43. 2010 Green Bay Packers (10-6) 44. 1967 Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) (AP) Lombardi’s second Super Bowl team was one of the worst of his tenure in Green Bay, which says less about this team than it does about Lombardi’s greatness. 45. 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) Why such little love for the two Steelers titles of the past decade?

They were two good, not great, teams who won their Super Bowls thanks to reffing (vs. Seattle) and two crazy plays (James Harrison’s return and Santonio Holmes’ catch). This is not to diminish the wins, just the team’s placement of a list of 49 of the best teams ever. It’s no insult. 46, 2012 Baltimore Ravens (10-6) (Getty Images) 47. 2001 New England Patriots (11-5) You have to forget about what they became and remember what they were — a team with an unknown quarterback that shouldn’t have been in the game (thank you, Tuck Rule), needed miraculous field goals to get to the Super Bowl and were playing a juggernaut in the Rams. But Bill Belichick came up with a brilliant scheme to stop Marshall Faulk (you can see it on video if you’ve forgotten), Adam Vinatieri hit his second-biggest kick of the playoffs (the one in the snow against Oakland was No. 1 and the greatest kick ever) and the Patriots dynasty was born. 48.

1970 Baltimore Colts (11-2-1) (AP) If unwatchability was the deciding factor this team would rank something like 75th out of 49. Super Bowl V is perhaps the worst played Super Bowl in history, with the Colts turning the ball over seven times before getting the first-ever game-winning field goal in the game. (At least the end was exciting?) The Colts had one of the easiest schedules a Super Bowl team has ever had, including a 1-2 record against teams above .500 (the losses were by a total of 37 points) and a number of wins by less than a touchdown over teams with records like 2-11-1. Baltimore also had a tie that year — against the 3-10-1 Buffalo Bills. 49. 2011 New York Giants (9-7) Just think how’d we’d be regarding the Patriots right now if they’d lost last year’s Super Bowl, with a record of 3-3 in the Super Bowl with no wins since 2004.

And it’d all have been because of this 9-7 Giants team that lost twice to the 5-11 Redskins. As it is, this paean to mediocrity goes down as the worst Super Bowl winner in history. (Getty Images) Biggest Embarrassment in Every NFL Team's History | Bleacher Report Biggest Embarrassment in Every NFL Team's History By James Dudko , Featured Columnist Jun 27, 2013 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Todd Warshaw/Getty Images 327 Comments Failed draft picks and blowout defeats dominate the list of the biggest embarrassments in NFL history. No team is safe from the type of follies that shame a franchise name. Some have been victim to improbable comebacks. Others have blown their closest shots to glory in one play of infamy. Some have endured an entire season of inept performances. Others have let one bad game forever define an otherwise stellar team history. 1. Dallas Cowboys: 1-15 Season in 1989 Allen Steele/Getty Images Before winning big, Troy Aikman was part of an embarrassing season. The warning signs were there for the Cowboys in 1988.

That season they finished 3-13, and that doomed the storied tenure of franchise linchpin Tom Landry. The team was sold to Jerry Jones, who promptly brought in Jimmy Johnson to patrol the sidelines. But before Jones and Johnson could deliver the team of the '90s, they had to embarrassingly exit the '80s. There was plenty of humiliation to go around in the 1989 season. Johnson's first team won only one game and stumbled through one calamity after another. In among all the losing, Jones and Johnson even traded away star player, Herschel Walker, a move not too well-received by the Cowboys' faithful at the time. Of course, this season of ignominy was merely the starting point for a dynasty. The lumps the Cowboys took in '89, including trading Walker, paved the way for three Super Bowl wins in four years. So maybe the embarrassing footnote of the Johnson-era Cowboys deserves to come with a disclaimer. However, a 1-15 finish for a franchise as grandiose and successful as the Cowboys will always be a point of shame, no matter what came after.

Tweet Joe Pisarcik and an over-the-hill Larry Csonka contriving to lose from a seemingly impossible position is still the biggest embarrassment in New York Giants history. In a game against their most bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, Big Blue self-destructed in farcical fashion. The Giants simply needed to run down the clock and earn a victory that would have had significant playoff implications. They were using fullback Csonka to do exactly that. At least that was the plan. With only 31 seconds left, Pisarcik somehow made a complete mess of the handoff and fumbled the ball. Sadly, he fumbled it right into the path of Eagles defensive back Herman Edwards. He ran it in for the score and the saddest chapter in Giants history was written. 3. Philadelphia Eagles: 2003 NFC Championship vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The Eagles said goodbye to the Vet on the wrong end of a championship defeat. The Philadelphia Eagles lost four NFC Championship Games in the 2000s. But the most painful came in January 2003. A powerful Eagles team was entertaining the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Eagles had whipped the Bucs in the playoffs both of the previous two years and were expected to brush them aside again. They also had the extra motivation of playing the final game in Veterans Stadium. The stage was set for Philly to send the old stadium off in glorious fashion. At least it was until Warren Sapp and the Buccaneers trampled all over the stage and the Eagles in the process. Late, great Eagles defensive guru Jim Johnson's blitz schemes were defeated by some select big plays through the air. As for Tampa Bay's defense, Monte Kiffin's star-studded unit produced possibly their finest postseason performance. Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber and Co. destroyed Donovan McNabb and the Eagles offense. Barber had a sack and sealed things with a 92-yard interception return for the last of Tampa Bay's 27 points. The final game at the Vet saw the Eagles on the wrong end of a 27-10 scoreline and blowing another chance to at last win a first Super Bowl. 4. Washington Redskins: The 2009 Season Win McNamee/Getty Images Jim Zorn presided over the most embarrassing year in Redskins history.

It is painful to know the Washington Redskins are the team that lost to the Cowboys in 1989. It is painful to know the Redskins lost the 1940 NFL title game 73-0 against the Chicago Bears, still the biggest margin of defeat in league history. However, for true humiliation, nothing compares to the 2009 season. That year came together to form an entire catalogue of embarrassments. First there was free-agent disaster Albert Haynesworth making off with $100 million and then playing as if he did not even belong in a semi-pro league. Then there was losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 3. A team that failed to win a game in 2008 and owned a 19-game losing streak. Things only got worse from there for the Redskins. Owner Dan Snyder publicly undercut cringe-worthy head coach Jim Zorn, by dragging Sherman Lewis away from calling bingo to call the offense. Since Mike Shanahan was hired in 2010, there has been a healthy section of Redskins fans who worship his every move. The two-time Super Bowl winner can do no wrong.

This was sometimes difficult to understand, especially when Shanahan was winning only 11 games in the two years before last season. But Shanahan was so well-received because his hiring represented credibility for a franchise that looked as if it had lost that quality for good after 2009. Tweet To some, or even many Chicago Bears fans, this might not rank as an embarrassment, but it certainly should. There is no other way to describe the decision to give the ball to mammoth defensive tackle William Perry in Super Bowl XX. During their glorious 1985 season, Perry had emerged as something of pop culture phenomenon for the Bears. The rookie played his part on Chicago's legendary defense, but the player dubbed "the refrigerator" earned his fame thanks to his exploits as a runner. Head coach Mike Ditka had taken to using Perry as a goal-line runner. It was a gimmick that amused many. But it had no place in the Bears' biggest game ever and at the expense of maybe their greatest player. When Perry scored on a one-yard plunge in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, the game was already won. Chicago had a 37-3 lead late in the third quarter.

The ball should have gone to running back Walter Payton. He was one of the best ever at his position and had been the Bears' star during their lean years. The Patriots had singled him out for special attention and kept him contained throughout the game. However, few can doubt that the great back would have taken it in from the 1. Payton deserved his moment of glory in his first and, as it turned out, only Super Bowl. Instead, Ditka shamefully indulged the gimmick play and the celebrity status of Perry. Years later Ditka told The Herald-Review he "regretted" the decision. 6. Detroit Lions: Going 0-16 in 2008 Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images The Lions will never be able to live down 0-16. No matter what they do, the Detroit Lions will never be able to live down going 0-16 in 2008. It is the only winless season in the 16-game era and was the culmination of mounting embarrassments for the Lions. Hiring Matt Millen in 2001 started the rot, and there was literally no limit to how bad the Lions could be in the 2000s.

Appointing Rod Marinelli as head coach in 2006 was the final push the Lions needed to be confirmed as the kings of NFL infamy. Marinelli won only 10 games in his first two years but was still around in 2008. The losses just mounted and mounted, but still it was hard to believe the Lions would not win a game. The Green Bay Packers finally put them out of their misery on December 28, 2008. That confirmed a mark the Lions franchise will never shed. 7. Green Bay Packers: Taking Tony Mandarich in the 1989 Draft Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images The Packers took arguably the biggest draft flop in history in 1989. It is often a little unfair to judge somebody based on the luxury of hindsight. Unless you are judging the performance of the Green Bay Packers in the 1989 draft. They were one of the worst teams in football, but had the second overall pick. They were primed to choose a top name from a talent pool featuring the likes of Deion Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Barry Sanders. They opted instead for herculean-looking offensive tackle Tony Mandarich.

The Packers got it badly, badly wrong. They did not know Mandarich's awesome feats of strength were the product of steroid use. In 2009, ESPN's Kory Kozak recounted Mandarich's admissions about using steroids: Well, for starters, he was cheating. He was chemically enhanced to the nth degree. He was the Six Million Dollar Man of steroids. "I was taking Winstrol V, equipoise, Anadrol 50s, testosterone, Anavar, Dianabol," he told me dispassionately in an ESPN interview last month at the W Hotel, near his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. Nobody knew because Mandarich manipulated drugs tests, as he told Kozak: The rumors of steroids started to surface, but schools were not testing for steroids yet, and the NCAA tested only at bowl games. Mandarich kept beating the system. He cheated on the tests for the Rose and Gator bowls. "I basically strapped something to my back a little -- it was actually a little doggie toy," Mandarich said in an interview that stretched longer than 2½ hours.

"Hooked up a little hose to it … ran a tube underneath and put a piece of gum to cap the tube." Before they saw what Mandarich was without the artificial enhancements, the Packers had paid him $4.4 million. Once he got onto a pro field, Mandarich was quickly revealed as perhaps the biggest draft flop in league history. 8. Minnesota Vikings: Losing 1999 NFC Championship Game vs. Atlanta Falcons Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Randy Moss and the Vikings were left stunned in the 1999 NFC Championship. The Minnesota Vikings simply were not supposed to lose the 1999 NFC Championship Game. Their opponents, the Atlanta Falcons, were no pushovers. They had completed a 14-2 season, but the Vikings just seemed fated for that year's Super Bowl. They had roared through the 1998 regular season, finishing 15-1. Along the way, they had lit up scoreboards every week and boasted the most prolific offense in NFL history. Randy Moss was a rookie sensation who was redefining the modern prototype for pro wide receivers. The Vikings were at home and just didn't lose in the Metrodome.

However, the Falcons kept hanging on their coattails for four quarters. Minnesota's suspect defense could not stop the overused connection between Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler and wideout Tony Martin. They also could not control running back Jamal Anderson, a man every team knew was coming that season but nobody could stop. The Falcons pushed the game into overtime and eventually pinched the George Halas trophy after Morten Andersen kicked the winner. It is easily the most embarrassing and painful loss in Vikings history. The failure was forever symbolized by kicker Gary Anderson. He had not missed a kick of any kind all season, but he failed to seal the game late with the Vikings ahead by seven. 9. Atlanta Falcons: Bobby Petrino Walkout Doug Benc/Getty Images Bobby Petrino symbolized failure in Atlanta. Bobby Petrino's walkout after 13 games in the 2007 season is still a source of embarrassment for the Atlanta Falcons. He ditched a losing team to return to the college ranks and take over at Arkansas. The problem was that Petrino decided not to let anybody in Atlanta know. He simply left a letter behind for the players to read while the door their head coach had just bolted through was still swinging.

ESPN's Len Pasquarelli described the chaos at the time: Because the Falcons players had Tuesday off, and there were no team meetings scheduled, Petrino did not personally address his squad. Several veterans said that Petrino did not call them to apprise them of his departure. There was a palpable tension much of the season between Petrino and the players, and most of the veterans felt the first-year coach was aloof and lacked solid communications skills. On both radio and television here, players such as middle linebacker Keith Brooking and cornerback DeAngelo Hall ripped Petrino for leaving the franchise with three games remaining in the season. Petrino's exit was a humiliating low point for the standing of the Falcons franchise. The calm stability and sustained success Mike Smith has since brought to Atlanta is a just reward for the way Petrino treated the organisation. 10. Carolina Panthers: Losing 15 Straight Games in 2001 Rick Stewart/Getty Images Chris Weinke and the Panthers faltered badly in 2001. The 2001 season unraveled in a blink of an eye for the Carolina Panthers. Despite a Super Bowl winner as head coach in George Seifert, the Panthers could not stop losing.

They actually began that season by beating the Vikings in Minnesota. Yet that was as good as it got for Seifert and his squad. They proceeded to lose 15 straight games. That established a record for consistent ineptitude, which lasted until the Lions helped them out in 2008. Seifert decided to start fourth-round pick Chris Weinke as his quarterback, and that decision doomed the season. The 1-15 finish remains the worst mark in Panthers history. 11. New Orleans Saints: "Bountygate" Scandal Chris Graythen/Getty Images Bountygate is a nasty chapter in Saints history. The New Orleans Saints' one and only Super Bowl win will forever be tainted with the stain of "Bountygate." The scandal involving the nefarious tactics of malevolent defensive coordinator Gregg Williams shamed the Saints, all pro players and the art of defense. Williams earned a suspension for overseeing a bounty scheme, offering fiscal rewards for injury to opposition players. In a move that defies belief, Williams has now been reinstated. Talk about damaging the credibility of the league's push to improve player safety. What is still shocking about "Bountygate" is that it took so long to be uncovered.

Anyone who watched the 2010 NFC Championship Game against the Vikings could see what was happening. The Saints will probably never totally shed the image of this nasty chapter in their history. Tweet The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have never quite been able to escape the image of their first two years in the NFL. From 1976-77, the Bucs went 0-26 and their overall play was worse than those uniforms. Low-light reels charting the great follies in NFL history are often dominated by clips of the early Bucs. Some of those images are imprinted on the minds of football fans. At least there were the endlessly entertaining quips of the late John McKay to add humour to proceedings. Eventually, McKay molded a playoff team in Tampa Bay, a testament to his resilience and a reward for all those who suffered those lean early years. Tweet The king of coaching rants is undoubtedly Mike Singletary . The problem was that every one of his rants was a source of embarrassment. His time in charge of the San Francisco 49ers was one tragi-comedy after another.

Singletary bellowing to a room full of reporters about "hitting people in the mouth" and "the old school" is a sad sight. From the very beginning, Singletary acted and sounded like a coach out of his depth. He got into sideline altercations with more than one player and could not win with a team loaded with talent. His Iron Mike ranting and raving was incredibly out of touch with the modern NFL and reality in general. His tenure was a real low point for a franchise so often associated with sophistication and innovation. 15. Seattle Seahawks: The 2009 Uniforms Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images The Seahawks owe football fans everywhere an apology for these uniforms. One day the true perpetrator of the Seattle Seahawks' 2009 uniforms will be revealed and suitably punished. It could only happen on a Jim Mora Jr.-coached team. Money was probably spent on these shame rags. Surely it would have been more cost-effective to simply have the players vomit on the perfectly good uniforms they already had. No matter how many losses they endure in the future, the Seahawks should always reserve their embarrassment for wearing these uniforms in 2009. 16. St.

Louis Rams: Losing to the 49ers in Week 8, 1995 Jamie Squire/Getty Images The 49ers humiliated the Rams in 1995. By 1995, St. Louis was more than ready to have a pro football team again. The Rams had moved in and their debut year in the city was off to a great start. They opened the '95 season 5-1, and the whole city was ready to host division kingpins and reigning NFL champions the San Francisco 49ers. The moment came on October 22 in Week 8. The game was billed as a chance to for the "new" Rams to put the 49ers in their place. Sadly, the 49ers were just too good and humiliated the Rams and their new city. San Francisco walloped the Rams and left St. Louis 44-10 winners. Linebacker Ken Norton Jr. punching the goalposts summed up the day for the Rams, but worse was to follow. It was the sight of gloating defensive linemen Tim Harris and Dana Stubblefield that came to symbolize this embarrassment. 17.

Buffalo Bills: 4 Consecutive Super Bowl Defeats Mike Powell/Getty Images The Bills were just horrible in Super Bowls. The Buffalo Bills are not the only team to be losers in four Super Bowls. The Vikings and the Denver Broncos also share that shame. But the Bills are the only team in NFL history to lose four consecutive Super Bowls. The AFC's true powerhouse in the '90s, the Bills won thanks to a formidable offense and a big-play defense. They would routinely romp to the Super Bowl with few problems. Instead, the Bills seemed to save all their problems for the big game. Their defense was always awful on the grandest stage. But it is the failings of the offense that have to hurt the most. They were destroyed by a blitzing game plan from the Washington Redskins in 1992. A year later, they committed nine turnovers against the Dallas Cowboys. The heartbreak of losing in their first Super Bowl thanks to a missed field goal seemed to force the Bills into regression in their next three appearances. The franchise has never recovered from losing four straight and likely never will, unless they can ever actually win one. 18.

Miami Dolphins: 62-7 Loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 1999 Playoffs Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Jimmy Johnson's Dolphins were humiliated in Jacksonville. Even to this day, it remains difficult to explain exactly what happened to the Miami Dolphins in the 1999 AFC playoffs. Jimmy Johnson had a solid-looking team with Dan Marino still under center and a powerful defense. The Dolphins scored a big win on the road over in the Seahawks in the Wild Card Round. They looked set to spring a few more surprises in the AFC race. Then they traveled to Jacksonville and were thumped by the Jaguars. Seriously thumped. The Dolphins were beaten 62-7 by their state rivals. It was a massacre right from the start. Johnson's team could not tackle, pass protect or run the ball. It was sad to witness a great coach and quarterback leave the pro game in this way. 19. New England Patriots: Losing Super Bowl XLII Chris McGrath/Getty Images This euphoria was soon rendered meaningless. The "Spygate" scandal was a close contender here. But the New England Patriots failing to complete an unbeaten season at the last hurdle has to rank as their most embarrassing moment.

The 2007 Patriots were an awesome team. Offensively, they surpassed the '98 Vikings, and their veteran defense was savvy and tough. Many teams were simply destroyed by this juggernaut. The Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season and a fourth Lombardi Trophy seemed inevitable. They made it 18-0 in the playoffs, and the Super Bowl seemed merely a formality against the 10-6 Giants. The Giants had surprised many with their playoff run, but few, if any, believed they could stop the Patriots. Yet that is exactly what Big Blue did. They blitzed Patriots quarterback Tom Brady into oblivion and the New England brain trust had no answers. In the end, the Giants snatched the Super Bowl with a 17-14 win. They became the team that has the Patriots number, repeating the trick four years later. This was a dream outcome for all those who have ever thought there is just something too smug about Bill Belichick . Suffering their one loss in the biggest game of all will always tarnish what was a superb showing from the Patriots in 2007-08.

The figure 18-1 is not even a consolation; it only underlines the embarrassment. 20. New York Jets: The Rich Kotite Years Rick Stewart/Getty Images It was a painful time for Jets fans when Rich Kotite walked the sidelines. It would not have been easy to be a fan of the New York Jets during the two years Rich Kotite was in charge. He was hired in 1995 to turn around a team that had gone 6-10 the season before. Kotite went three games worse in his debut campaign. He won only one game in 1996. Lions fans must wish the Jets had kept him around for the 1997 season. Kotite's tenure was defined by one major blunder after another. Whether it was selecting Kyle Brady ahead of Warren Sapp in the 1995 draft or paying mega bucks to hapless quarterback Neil O'Donnell. Kotite left a 4-28 record behind, and it took a superior coaching job from Bill Parcells to quickly make the Jets relevant again. 21.

Baltimore Ravens: Blowing a Lead in the 2010 AFC Playoffs Nick Laham/Getty Images The Ravens blew it big-time against the Steelers in the 2010 playoffs. Letting a big lead slip in a playoff game is embarrassing for any team. But that pain and humiliation is only compounded against your fiercest rival. That is what happened to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2010 AFC playoffs against arch foe the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens went into Pittsburgh in the divisional round and toyed with the Steelers in the first half. Baltimore built a commanding 21-7 halftime advantage and clearly felt good about it. A veteran team like the Ravens are never expected to collapse the way they did after the break. The Steelers pushed back and outscored the Ravens 24-3 in the second half. The Steelers went to a Super Bowl, and the embarrassed Ravens had to wait two more seasons before they would do the same. Given the pride and animosity in the Ravens-Steelers rivalry, this is one loss neither franchise will ever forget. 22. Cincinnati Bengals: The Dave Shula Years Rick Stewart/Getty Images The Dave Shula years were particularly embarrassing for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals could not look past the name when they hired Dave Shula to be their head coach in 1991. He was, after all, the son of legendary winner Don Shula. Not at all surprisingly, that plan did not work out well. The younger Shula's time in Cincinnati was an embarrassment for all concerned. What is amazing is how long Shula lasted. He went 5-11, 3-13 and 3-13 again in his first three years. Yet he would not be fired until seven games into the 1996 season. Bad drafts and poor choices at quarterback were staples of the Shula era. His tenure represented the time when the Bengals had the title "worst franchise in the NFL" all to themselves. Thankfully things have changed a lot since. 23. Cleveland Browns: 43-0 Loss to the Steelers, Week 1, 1999 Season Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images The Browns made an embarrassing start to life back in the NFL. When you are playing your first game in three seasons in front of a rabid fanbase against your biggest enemy, you ought to make a good impression.

The returning Cleveland Browns did anything but on the opening day of the 1999 season. Deserted in 1995, Cleveland had a team back and a showdown with their archrivals was the ideal way to celebrate their return. At least it would have been had the Steelers not embarrassed the Browns 43-0. Even the excuse of being an expansion team cannot dim the humiliation of being shut out by your greatest foe on your big night. Believe it or not, the Browns would actually gain some measure of revenge by winning in Pittsburgh later in the season. But the franchise has stayed an almost permanent resident in the league's basement since '99. The pattern of those failures was set by this drubbing on its first night back. 24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Losing 4 Home AFC Championship Games 1994-2004 Rick Stewart/Getty Images AFC Championship Games have embarrassed the Steelers more than once. When you have won six Super Bowls, there probably is not a lot of room for embarrassment. Except maybe for the ones that might have been. The Steelers lost four AFC Championship Games at home from 1994 to 2004.

In each one, they were clear favourites. The first is perhaps the most notable and maybe still the most humiliating. The 1994 Steelers were a truly imposing team. Their "Blitzburgh" defense was feared, as was their bruising, power running game. The upstart San Diego Chargers seemed like no match. The Steel City was stunned when the Chargers escaped with a 17-13 win. In 1997, the Steelers hosted the Denver Broncos, a team they had crushed earlier in the season. The Broncos took the AFC crown with a 24-21 win in Steelers territory. But the Steelers were far from done embarrassing themselves in conference title games. They let a young Tom Brady and the un-fancied Patriots come into Pittsburgh and catch them cold in 2001. Three years later, the 15-1 Steelers seemed primed for revenge. Instead, Brady and his mates coasted to a 41-27 win. The Steelers have since won two Super Bowls and made it to another. But the pain of these home defeats is probably still strong. 26.

Houston Texans: Sack Record on David Carr, 2002 Elsa/Getty Images David Carr's career is defined by the number of sacks he's endured. The Houston Texans should be embarrassed by the number of times they let quarterback David Carr get sacked. The top pick in the 2002 draft, Carr spent his rookie season becoming part of a very dubious record. He was sacked 76 times in 2002. That is worth typing again. 76 times in 2002. Just what was happening in Houston that season? Carr could not have been blamed for asking his offensive line if it was personal. Amazingly, he survived all 16 games of that expansion year. Unfortunately, things rarely got any better. Carr was sacked 49 times in 2004 and suffered 68 in 2005. He was gone after the 2006 season and 43 more sacks. Every NFL player wants to play. But spending the last six years as a backup must have felt like one long holiday on the beach to Carr after his torment in Houston. 26.

Indianapolis Colts: Mike Vanderjagt Missed Kick, 2005 AFC Playoffs Jamie Squire/Getty Images Mike Vanderjagt embarrassed the Colts with this miss. The Indianapolis Colts were left embarrassed by their arrogant kicker in the 2005 AFC playoffs. Mike Vanderjagt failed to back up his cocky advice to teammates, or his brash behaviour on the field, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Colts were hosting the Steelers in the divisional round, and the game had become closer than expected. Vanderjagt had the chance to seal the win late on. He had already publicly chided quarterback Peyton Manning and head coach Tony Dungy for their perceived failings in previous playoff defeats. So this was the perfect chance for Vanderjagt to show his team what delivering when it counts really looks like. His swagger before the kick was almost unbearable. When Steelers coach Bill Cowher called timeout to ice the kicker, Vanderjagt responded with a cocky point of the finger towards the Pittsburgh sideline. That show of bravado meant he had to kick it. Except he failed. Failed big time. Vanderjagt dragged a relatively easy kick wide and the Steelers would go on to win.

This was an embarrassing low in the Manning-Dungy era. It narrowly beat their annual playoff drubbings against the Patriots to deservedly make this list. 27. Jacksonville Jaguars: Chris Hanson and the Ax, 2003 Mark Konezny/Getty Images Chris Hanson suffered painful embarrassment in 2003. For reasons defying understanding, then-head coach Jack Del Rio brought a wooden stump and an ax into the Jacksonville Jaguars' locker room in 2003. Perhaps inevitably, disaster soon ensued. Punter Chris Hanson was participating in the strange "keep chopping wood" ritual, when he injured himself with the ax. The Florida Times-Union described the incident at the time: Pro Bowl punter Chris Hanson was lost for a minimum of four to six weeks and possibly the season yesterday when he sustained a deep gash in his lower right leg while swinging an ax at a tree stump in the Jaguars' locker room. Coach Jack Del Rio, who had the tree stump and ax brought into the locker room on Sept. 26 as an illustration of his "keep chopping wood" slogan, had the ax removed after the accident and said the stump will be removed soon.

File this under the heading, "you couldn't make it up." 29. Denver Broncos: The Josh McDaniels Years Chris McGrath/Getty Images Josh McDaniels is a coach Broncos fans want to forget. During under two seasons in charge of the Denver Broncos, Josh McDaniels represented the worst traits of a young up-and-coming coach. Brash, abrasive and far too loud, McDaniels soon alienated those around him. He gave away star quarterback Jay Cutler and then fell out with premier wide receiver Brandon Marshall . McDaniels seemed to believe "getting in people's faces" was the only way to run a team. In October 2010, his need for control extended to filming the San Francisco 49ers' walk-through at Wembley Stadium. That rightly proved enough to finally earn McDaniels a shove through the exit door in Denver. 30. Kansas City Chiefs: Home Playoff Defeats in 1995 and 1997 Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images The Chiefs failed big-time in the '95 and '97 playoffs. Aside from 1993, the Kansas City Chiefs were never great in the playoffs during the '90s.

Their two biggest failures came after the 1995 and 1997 seasons. Head coach Marty Schottenheimer had built two powerful teams. In '95, quarterback Steve Bono was the surprise success story. He led a 13-3 team into the playoffs for their its game. It was at home to the wild-card entrant Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs should have dismantled the Colts. But instead they succumbed to a 10-7 defeat, mostly thanks to hapless kicker Lin Elliott. A stunned crowd saw a season of great promise evaporate in freezing conditions. Two seasons later, the Chiefs had an even better team. Bono was gone and Elvis Grbac had replaced him. When he was injured, Rich Gannon had stepped in and performed superbly. Come the playoffs, though, Schottenheimer erred on the side of caution. He brought Grbac back in for the home game against the Denver Broncos. Again, the Chiefs found a way to collapse. In one of its most painful and embarrassing defeats, Kansas City fell to the Broncos 14-10. The Chiefs were the class of the AFC in these two seasons and were good enough to make it to the Super Bowl.

But they simply could not avoid embarrassment in the playoffs. 31. Oakland Raiders: Drafting JaMarcus Russell 1st Overall, 2007 Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images JaMarcus Russell was a disaster in Oakland. The Oakland Raiders have not often gotten it right in the draft during the last decade. Their biggest failure undoubtedly came in 2007. That year, the Silver and Black selected quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Trouble began when he held out for a long time. However, the Raiders were in real trouble once Russell made it to the field. He won only seven games in three years. His poor performances became a farce that embarrassed both the player and the franchise. Russell is currently trying to make amends. He has slimmed down and maintains hope for a comeback. The Raiders are probably still too embarrassed to make him an offer, though. 32. San Diego Chargers: Ryan Leaf David Taylor/Getty Images Drafting Ryan Leaf was a low point for the Chargers. Ryan Leaf took hardly any time at all to collapse in spectacular fashion in the NFL. The unfortunate franchise that had to endure it was the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers had drafted Leaf second overall in 1998.

He was erratic and immature on and off the field. Leaf lasted only four seasons, during which he threw 36 interceptions. Things have been even harder away from the NFL. Leaf was arrested twice in four days in 2012 and has reportedly battled drug addiction and other health issues. His time in San Diego symbolizes a true low point for the Chargers franchise. The Greatest Teams That Didn't Make It To The Super Bowl The Greatest Teams That Didn't Make It To The Super Bowl {{article.article.images.featured.caption}} Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Full Bio The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. Loading ... Loading ... This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe Super Bowl 50 is just about here. Over the past couple of days, we’ve been using our standard deviation power ranking formula to make our calls for things like the best all-time Super Bowl champs (the 1972 Miami Dolphins, with this year’s Carolina Panthers poised to displace them with a win), and the biggest Super Bowl upsets (the Giants over the undefeated 2007 Patriots).

SAN DIEGO - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Philip Rivers #17 of the San Diego Chargers looks to pass against the Arizona Cardinals at Qualcomm Stadium on December 31, 2006 in San Diego, California. The Chargers won 27-20. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) Here’s one final list in honor of those dominant teams that never had a chance to make Super Bowl history because unfortunate playoff stumbles knocked them out first. We give you the ten greatest teams that didn’t make the Super Bowl: (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers Led by the league’s best defense, Pittsburgh ran away with the AFC North with a 15-1 record. But putting together a dominant season in the midst of a Patriots dynasty brought unfortunate consequences. The 14-2 Patriots were also a historically great team. Despite falling in Pittsburgh 34-20 in Week 8, they went back for the AFC Championship game and picked off Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger three times in 41-27 win.

1995 Kansas City Chiefs The Chiefs ran away in a pretty tough AFC West (no one worse than 8-8), with a 13-3 record thanks to a defense led by four Pro Bowlers that held opponents to a league-low 15 points per game. But on a frigid day at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium which saw wind chills reach 15 below, the Chiefs wound up on the short end of a defensive struggle against the Colts in the divisional playoffs, 10-7. 2011 Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers and the Pack followed their title of the previous year with a dominant 15-1 season, leading the NFL with a whopping 560 points as Rodgers threw for over 4,600 yards with 45 TDs and six interceptions. But three lost fumbles against the Giants in their first playoff game cost Green Bay dearly in a 37-20 loss. You have to hand it to the 9-7 Giants: their win over the Packers followed by their Super Bowl victory over the Patriots three weeks later both stand among the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history.

2006 San Diego Chargers A 14-2 club which led the NFL in scoring by a wide margin on the backs of MVP running back LaDanian Tomlinson (1,815 yards, 28 touchdowns) and QB Philip Rivers (22 TDs, 9 INTs, 61.7% completion rate). But in their first playoff game, the Chargers drew Bill Belichick and the Patriots, whose two late scores nipped them, 24-21. 1998 Minnesota Vikings Seven Pro Bowlers on offense, including receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss’ and QB Randall Cunningham, led an offensive juggernaut that torched opponents for 35 points a game. But the 15-1 Vikes dropped a heartbreaker to the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons on an overtime field goal, 30-27. 1997 San Francisco 49ers The 13-3 Niners were a top five team both offensively and defensively, earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC by a tiebreaker over the defending champion Green Bay Packers.

But a big defensive effort by the Pack in the conference title game held San Francisco to 33 rushing yards in a 23-10 victory. 2010 New England Patriots Yet another vintage Patriots team of the 2000s, this club dominated with a 14-2 record before losing in the divisional playoff round to the Jets, one of the two teams to beat them during the season. 1986 Chicago Bears The famously dominant 1985 Bears were nearly as good in ’86, riding the league’s top defense to a 14-2 record. But an injury to quarterback Jim McMahon left them vulnerable in the playoffs, where they were bounced by the Redskins.

Question: Which team in the 80s won the Super Bowl by the biggest margin?
Answer: Chicago Bears